One of the producers of the James Bond franchise has revealed the classic scene they use to audition potential Bond performers. The character of James Bond was originally created by British author Ian Fleming in a series of 12 novels and 2 collections of short stories published in 1953. The first movie to adapt the story of the soft superspy was in 1962 dr. no starring Sean Connery, a substantial hit that grossed nearly 60 times its budget of approximately $1 million, became a worldwide sensation and launched a franchise that now includes 25 films, the most recent of which is in 2021 No time to die.
While Bond’s character is iconic, several actors have played him over the years. Connery may be most synonymous with the role, even to this day, but many of the other performers — including Timothy Dalton, George Lazenby, Pierce Brosnan, and Roger Moore — are loved by generations of Bond fans. The most recent version of Bond was played by Daniel Craig, who took on the role in 2006 Casino royale until his last outing with No time to diethe release of which marks the end of the longest tenure an actor has had in the role.
Per DeadlineMichael G. Wilson – who has been a producer for the James Bond franchise since the Pierce Brosnan era – recently appeared at a 60th anniversary event at the British Film Institute in London. He revealed that when they audition for new potential actors to star as James Bond, they always use the seduction scene from Connery’s second Bond film, From Russia with love. In the scene, Bond returns to his room from the bathroom to discover Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi) in his bed. She complains that”I think my mouth is too big“and he responds”No, it’s the right size. For me that is.“Wilson Says That”anyone who can bring that scene is a good fit for Bond.Read his full quote below:
We always use the same scene… and that’s the one in From Russia With Love, where Bond comes back to his room after the murder, and he starts to take off his shirt, goes into the room to take a bath. Then he hears something, takes his gun, goes inside and the girl is in bed.
That was the test we use. Anyone who can bring that scene is a good fit for Bond. It’s hard to do.
Why this from Russia with love scene perfectly captures Bond
It makes sense why producers would pressure a new Bond with this particular one From Russia with love moment. It encompasses so many of the different layers that make the character an iconic presence in Western literature and cinema. While the dialogue has a certain corny charm that brings out the franchise’s central humor, it’s also really seductive and soft as delivered by Connery, who managed to balance the two sides of the character perfectly.
While Craig’s version of Bond was a little rougher and more realistic, each iteration of the character has a sense of embracing the iconography of the character and the world around him, mixing goofy sixties tropes with thrilling spy action. Anyone who can perform the classic iteration of the character can land anything they want to do with him. While the next James Bond film is still a long way off, it’s likely this scene will prove to be just as important in finding the newest actor for the role as it was in the past.
Source: Deadline
